A new era of almost unprecedented government spending inched perilously closer to reality Tuesday when the Senate narrowly approved an $838 billion “economic recovery” plan...Although not a surprise, the scale was tipped by the new GOP Gang of Three: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.)...Why? For the past two days I’ve been asking my contacts on Capitol Hill that very question, and the only answer I’ve gotten was that the Gang caved into media pressure to not embarrass Obama.